Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-09-17
PUBLISHERS IN INDIA.
Moi,ammedan Literary Enterprise-Adopt
Ing Western Methods.

The natives of India are rapidly
adopting Western methods. In no re-
spect is that fact more apparent than
in the publication of books and serials.
From the time when Carey landed in
Calcutta, in the last decade OF the
eighteenth century, and set up his
printing-press in the little Danish
suburb OF Serampore, down to the
present year, no Christian missionary
has exhibited more energy and thrift
than the Mohammedan and Hindu ma
lives are now displaying for the propa-
CATION of their faiths.
The most striking illustration of this
remarkable departure for strengthen
ing the trembling fabric of the old re-
ligion OF India is the great publishing
house of Muushi Newal Kishore, i'm
Lucknow. This is the fourth city in
size in India, and is well situated, - a
distributing centre, not only for the
whole valley of the Gauges, but for
the entire Indian peninsula. kishore
is, first of all, a school-book publisher.
He seems to have the favor Of the
British government TO a remarkable de-
gree, and fills contracts for supplying
books in the Indian tongues to schools
in large portions of the Punjab. lie is
"A Mohammedan, and makes no secret
Of it.. But, with the publishers in
stinct, he keeps his religion in the
background. He never puts his faith
at the top of his bill-heads. He is a
broad man-broad in everything ex-
cept Christianity, and it is not likely
that the Gospel has a more vigorous
lot,, g, Az. -,I-lo r.o NJ
than this willy man. But he is no
bigoted professional. Bitter hater as
he is of Hinduism and of all the num-
crous non-Mohammedan faiths, he
seems rs ready to publish books for
the promotion Of Brahminish and of
its rival faith, Buddhism, rs to issue
apologies and textbooks iii behalf of
Islam.
The Kishore publishing house is sit
uated on the Eazrat Gunge, the main
street of Lucknow. The buildings
are numerous, but low, mostly of ORG
story, after the native fashion, and 81
cccdingly plain. Many OF them are
mere sheds, where the work is done in
full view Of others on the promises.
The roofs are Of brick thing. These
buildings cover a vast space, which is
divided into many alleys ana non
dcscript passagc-ways, running at al
angles with each other, and dcscrib-
ing Such curves as one can find IN the
dcuser parts OF Lubbock or Nurcm-
berg. ! entered the premises ~ a
long lane running at right angles
from the main street. No onei in pass
ing along the street would suspect,
unless he should turu into the sane,
the number Of men hard NJ work 1t
the farther end, n the wonderful
magnitude OF their operations. The
orders are constantly coming in from
all India and even from Afghauistan,
Arabia, and Turkey in Europe, The
many people engaged in carrying ~
the business nave al they can do to
fiji the orders and prepare for new
mes on the way, Were the build
ings covering such an area rs this in
Europe, and four or five stories high,
yet turning out no more work than
these primitive nuts and sheds, their
value could not be less than q half
million dollars. But in Lucknow
value those many buildings and the
ground covered by them would not
sell for more than about forty thou
sand dollars. Mother Earth is the
common resting-place. The men and
boys in great numbers siton the Garth
Ell floor IN al possible positions, and
carry on their work. They set type,
read proof, and bind the sheets while
sitting squat on the ground.
There IS Il great d~isproportion be-
tween the amount of type and the vol
Umcs printed, While there is an i'm.
mcu,c quantity Of type used in
kishorc'o house, the litho%raphing OF
n whole book is n iayoriie procedure.
/ have a copy % the Koran, bought
upon the premises, which Is one loot
long and eight inches broad, and | am
quite sure that not a type was used III
the printing Of il. The plates are lith-
ograph, and OF excellent finish. As
this particular volume was intended
to be illustrated in %colors, the dill
Guilty was To- supply the cuts. This. of
course, could have been met by a sep
aratc impression. But that is not
Kishorc's method. All those blanks
are filed by colored illustrations an
piled by hana. These are quite rude
~ done. and yet the pictures are strik-
ing, and to an Oriental eve must he
HLbtiNiiN's vi lllt yAoldl WHICH l.
bought, having three hundred and sew
entcen pages, with numerous illustra-
tions, bound in full leather, the price
was only two dollars and q half.
But while II large portion of work in
this Moilammedan publishing house is
done upon stone instead Of type. there
is also an immense amount of the
usual type-sotting and casting. The
Arabic and some of the Hindu tongues
are very favorable for engraving on
stone. The whole alphabet. in several
cases, consists of curves which can be
easily executed by sharp tools. But
when it comes to the Roman letters
and Kishorc has his abundant uses for
printing v in English books-this
strewd publisher us ) type, and his
capable artisans kno" how to %
plates from it quite rs well as the Eng
lish or American founders Bishop
John Il. Hurst, tn Narpcr's Magazine.
A North Carolina Incident.
Plum Beasley's house caught on fire